General HS
Planning to buy a great and relatively inexpensive all-season truck tire? There are such tires - these are General HS and we will talk about them in this review.
About tires - general information
In 2015, at the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, General Tire unveiled new tires for long-haul trucking in honor of its centenary. Among the tires on display was the new General HS. These tires, despite the conservative design, from the first months of the sale fell in love with buyers from the USA and Canada.
General HS is an all season radial tire for long haul trucks. This tire model is primarily intended for installation on American bonneted tractors. The General HS model is a steering (steerable) tire. That is, they are installed on the discs of the front axle and ensure the maintenance of directional stability on a straight line and when cornering. It is the design of the steering tires that determines how comfortable the ride will be. Typically, the steering tires on long distance trucks are more technologically advanced than the tires on the rear wheels. This is due to the special requirements that apply to their operation.
Truck Steering Tire Requirements
Steering tires for commercial vehicles are a separate product category of General Tire. After all, special requirements are imposed on them:
- Commercial tires must be durable with regular use and increased stress.
- These tires must provide a short stopping distance so that the van or trailer with inertia, like a boxcar, stops immediately at traffic lights.
- Truck tires should provide good handling both when driving in a straight line and when cornering.
- Commercial vehicle tires must be practical. That is, they should be relatively inexpensive and should be all-season, so as not to change during the entire service life.
General HS fully complies with the listed requirements. And besides, they guarantee a number of advantages.
General HS advantages
There are advantages, and we will list the most important ones:
- High durability of the tire and, as a consequence, a long service life before disposal
- High resistance to breakdown, which is achieved due to the dense reinforcement of the central rib and a special compound that makes the rubber stronger while maintaining elasticity.
- Low tire weight (about 120 lbs) and, as a result, lower rolling resistance.
- Fuel savings as the tire has less rolling resistance.
- Really excellent handling due to the design without pronounced transverse sipes, instead of which there are used longitudinal grooves.
- Good longitudinal traction with the road surface, despite the absence of pronounced tread.
- Less vibration on the steering wheel and less noise in the cabin. The inner layer of rubber of a lower density dissipates most of the vibrations that are transmitted to it upon contact with the road surface.
By the way, about good handling and other driving characteristics. General HS tires are all-season tires, but to make them that way, prototypes have been tested in various climatic zones. That is, these tires were used in the southern United States and northern Canada, and only when the developer was convinced that these tires met the requirements of all-weather tires, General HS went into production.
Technologies and design features
Among the design features of General HS, first of all, we note the tread pattern - it is unusual here. The tread is made in the form of five longitudinal ribs with rectangular grooves. This tread design provides uniform wear on the running surface of the tire, which is in direct contact with the road surface. In addition, a tire with such a tread is ideal for retreading, since it is much easier to cut a tread from five ribs and re-weld a new one than retreading a tread with a more complex pattern.
The longitudinal grooves are designed in such a way that stones and even more dirt that fall inside are thrown outward by centrifugal force. That is, the tire remains clean even in the off-season, which has a positive effect on the truck's handling. Taking into account the design features, the tires are designed for driving on dense, flat surfaces - mainly asphalt or concrete.
General Tire has been part of the Continental AG concern since 1987. Therefore, General Tire actively uses American and European tire manufacturing technologies. The standard set of technologies includes the following:
- Longitudinal ribs of the tread - the technology involves the abandonment of the traditional multiple sipes in favor of 5 large longitudinal ribs. The steering wheels on a rear wheel drive vehicle should not provide optimal engagement as they do not propel the vehicle. Therefore, the transverse sipes are not needed, but the longitudinal ribs just contribute to better steering. Moreover, this tread pattern contributes to less wear.
- Integrated cleaning system for stones and dirt. Between the longitudinal ribs, there are rectangular grooves, at the bottom of which there are bulges in the form of pyramids. Actually, these bulges just prevent the accumulation of dirt and stones between the ribs.
- Low rolling resistance is achieved by using a special compound. The tread compound has a low rolling resistance to maintain a constant speed and fuel economy.
- Reinforcement of the tire to achieve greater rigidity and for uniform wear of the tread. An additional strength of the tires is provided by metal belts soldered inside the center rib. In addition, lateral composite inserts are used for reinforcement. These inserts eliminate damage to tires and wheels when hitting a curb or speed bumps.
Standard sizes
General HS tires are made only for long-haul trucks, and therefore the range of sizes is small. Nevertheless, the proposed sizes are sufficient for American and European bonnet trucks.
In addition to General HS, the manufacturer's assortment includes a model of tires for HD drive axles and General HT trailed tires. Thus, the manufacturer's assortment includes a complete set of high-quality tires to equip most of the mainline tractors and trailers in demand on the market.
What buyers say
Buyers of General HS tires are large and medium-sized companies engaged in the transport of goods or private owners of long-haul trucks. All freight carriers, regardless of whether it is a large company or a private owner of one car, are interested in long service life and a low price of tires. Both are provided by General HS.
These tires do indeed perform as much or slightly more than tires in the same price segment. In addition, General HS prices are more affordable. This is why buyers agree that General HS is a very practical purchase. Well, in addition to the practicality of these tires, buyers note their excellent driving characteristics. Driving performance refers to handling on different surfaces and in different weather conditions.
Let's sum up
There are many different tires for trucks on sale, but it is General HS that demonstrates the best combination of price and quality. This is a very important advantage from the point of view of commercial vehicle owners. If you are the owner of a long-haul tractor and you need not the most expensive, but really good steering tires, first of all, pay attention to General HS.